# The best punk rock album is... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 14, 2003, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-punk-rock-album-is/161456 "2003-03-14T22:41:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-punk-rock-album-is/161456/1 "2003-03-14T22:41:42Z")
We’re not talking compilations, re-releases, best of’s… we’re talking the best, start to finish punk rock album of all time. There are plenty of damn good ones, but my vote is going to go with: **Double Nickels on the Dime** by the Minutemen Some reasons… 1. This is a great band captured at their peak… both in their music and songwriting. 2. 43 Songs! Most under 2 minutes long… none over 3 3. No bad songs and a large number that pretty much alone would make me buy an album (Nature Without Man, One Reporters Opinion, Political Song For Michael Jackson To Sing, Maybe Partying Will Help, Toadies, Corona, My Heart and The Real World, Jesus and Tequila… to name a few) 4. Political without being purile or preachy. 5. There’s some variety of pacing and styles on going on… it’s not just like one long song chopped into 2 minute segments. So that’s my arguement. Which album would you champion? Don’t wimp out… keep it to _one_. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-punk-rock-album-is/161456/2 "2003-03-14T22:55:17Z")
I’m not going to vote, because my list would have 100 first-place ties. However for my money **Three-Way Tie For Last** is a better album than \*_Double Nickels on the Dime_ :). - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-punk-rock-album-is/161456/3 "2003-03-14T22:58:23Z")
_Never Mind the Bollocks_ The original and the best. No argument. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-punk-rock-album-is/161456/4 "2003-03-14T23:01:49Z")
_Los Angeles_. ---
**Author:** ![Ferrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-punk-rock-album-is/161456/5 "2003-03-14T23:02:37Z")
**Double Nickels** is one of my top ten favorite albums of all time. For some reason though, I never considered the Minutemen to be punk rock. Some do, I know, but that label never seemed right to me…maybe because they didn’t have weird hair… So anyway, with that in mind, I nominate **Los Angeles** by X. “You’re Phone’s Off The Hook, But You’re Not”, “Johnny Hit And Run Paulene”, “Nausea”…it’s a classic. I like it a bit better than my next favorite by them, **Wild Gift**. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8797f3/32.png) [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Universe_Lashes_Out)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-punk-rock-album-is/161456/6 "2003-03-14T23:03:49Z")
Never Mind The Bollocks is the definition of punk rock. ---
**Author:** ![Ave\_Minerva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@Ave\_Minerva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ave_Minerva)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-punk-rock-album-is/161456/7 "2003-03-14T23:04:19Z")
The UK version of the 1st Clash album. ---
**Author:** ![Ferrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-punk-rock-album-is/161456/8 "2003-03-14T23:04:37Z")
Great minds, eh **ruadh**? ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-punk-rock-album-is/161456/9 "2003-03-14T23:11:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ferrous \* > \*\*Great minds, eh **ruadh**? \*\* 🙂 Actually I thought just after I posted that I should have cheated and named the Slash _Los Angeles/ Wild Gift_ CD reissue. I honestly don’t think I could pick one over the other. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-punk-rock-album-is/161456/10 "2003-03-14T23:21:03Z")
Didn’t none of you hear wot I said? No argument. _gobs_ _two-fingered salute_ _vomits down self_ ---
**Author:** ![Ferrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-punk-rock-album-is/161456/11 "2003-03-14T23:23:49Z")
_headbutts **jjimm** _ ---
**Author:** ![neofishboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/neofishboy/32/444_2.png) [@neofishboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neofishboy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-punk-rock-album-is/161456/12 "2003-03-14T23:37:22Z")
While I would be hard pressed to argue that it has much more historical significance than, say _Damaged_ or _London Calling_, Hüsker Dü’s _Zen Arcade_ does more for me emotionally than just about any other album in my collection (_New Day Rising_ coming in a very close second). The guitar tone Bob Mould was using in the early days can still make me all goose-bumpy. Upon preview: _fills his boot with piss and lobs it at **Ferrous** and **jjimm** _ ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-punk-rock-album-is/161456/13 "2003-03-14T23:40:42Z")
_Zen Arcade_ is “the early days”? Man, I am old. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-punk-rock-album-is/161456/14 "2003-03-15T00:13:35Z")
Up yours, I’m not choosing just one: Best UK punk album: _Damned Damned Damned_ by (wait for it) The Damned. Best US punk album: _Rocket to Russia_ by The Ramones. ---
**Author:** ![dead0man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@dead0man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dead0man)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-punk-rock-album-is/161456/15 "2003-03-15T01:02:23Z")
I know I’m going to get bashed in the head by the old schoolers, but… The best “modern” punk rock album has got to be “Punk in Drublic” by **NOFX**. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-punk-rock-album-is/161456/16 "2003-03-15T03:13:03Z")
Double Nickels is Great, and the Minutemen live were awesome - each time better than the last. I’m not sure if there is a number one, but the top ten have to include the first Dicks album. ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-punk-rock-album-is/161456/17 "2003-03-15T03:17:44Z")
Bedtime for Democracy, by the Dead Kenedys. How the hell is “Never mind the bullocks” the “original”? It was a good album, but hardly the first. ---
**Author:** ![Torgo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@Torgo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Torgo)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-punk-rock-album-is/161456/18 "2003-03-15T03:27:52Z")
Somewhere amongst the Minutemen’s **Double Nickels** , Minor Threat’s **Out of Step** , TSOL’s original **untitled 1981 EP** , Black Flag’s **Jealous Again** and PIL’s **Metal Box** you’ll probably find it. ---
**Author:** ![B.Pants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@B.Pants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Pants)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-punk-rock-album-is/161456/19 "2003-03-15T04:08:07Z")
_Static Age_ from the Misfits is number one in my little punkrock heart. Of course _Walk Among us_ is an insanely close second. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-punk-rock-album-is/161456/20 "2003-03-15T04:28:49Z")
Minor Threat’s Red Album. It may not be the first, but it is the best. It’s got the speed, the power, the clean garageness–yet very polished, and the melodies. Others in the running? London Calling, Horror Epics, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-punk-rock-album-is/161456.md?page=2)